Subject: What is this bug?
Geographic location of the bug: under rotting old maple tree in RI
Date: 05/04/2019
Time: 05:42 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: same as above
How you want your letter signed : anyway
Pleasing Fungus Beetle
Dear anyway,
This is a Pleasing Fungus Beetle.
Subject: Bug in smoky mountain national park near Gatlinburg
Geographic location of the bug: Above
Date: 04/29/2019
Time: 05:54 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Curious as to what this bug is?
How you want your letter signed: Dawn
Pleasing Fungus Beetle
Dear Dawn,
This is definitely a Pleasing Fungus Beetle in the genus Megalodacne, and according to BugGuide: “Larvae feed on bracket fungi. Adults overwinter under bark, often in groups.” We are puzzled as to what is protruding from its abdomen. No images on BugGuide depict such an ovipositor. We have contacted Eric Eaton for his opinion on this.
Eric Eaton Confirms:
Your assessment is correct. Many beetles, especially those that place eggs in bark crevices or other nooks and crannies have telescoping ovipositors like this.
Eric
Subject: ID please
Geographic location of the bug: SE Brazil
Date: 11/27/2017
Time: 06:45 AM EDT
Please can you ID the three insects on the enclosed enclosed photos please
How you want your letter signed: GP
Pleasing Fungus Beetle
Dear GP,
The yellow and black beetle is a Pleasing Fungus Beetle in the family Erotylidae, and we found a matching image on FlickR, but alas, it is only identified to the family level. In the future, please limit your identification requests to a single species per submission. We will be postdating your submission to go live to our site later in the month while our editorial staff is away for the holidays.
Subject: Whose pupal cases (?)
Geographic location of the bug: southern Colorado, ponderosa pine forest
Date: 11/26/2017
Time: 06:41 PM EDT
Last spring I cut and split some ponderosa pine firewood in the woods behind my house. Some pieces sat up there all summer, and when I brought them down this fall, I discovered these pupal cases (?) on one chunk. I was curious to know what made them.
(Resending because my images might have been too large last time)
How you want your letter signed: Chas
Exuviae of Fungus Beetle Pupae
Dear Chas,
These are the exuviae or cast off exoskeletons of the pupae of Fungus Beetles, probably Gibbifer californicus. Here is a similar image from BugGuide. According to BugGuide: “Larvae feed on wood-destroying fungi” and “female lays eggs in bark crevices of fallen rotting logs.”
Dear Daniel Marlos,
Fascinating! thanks a lot — now I know where to go for further research.
It was a standing, dead beetle-killed pine, so decay had already started in
some places on the trunk.
Chas S. Cllifton
Subject: should I throw my luggage away?
Geographic location of the bug: Chattanooga, TN
Date: 11/04/2017
Time: 09:48 AM EDT
I found this in my dirty clothes, after I got back from a local overnight convention. I didn’t put any reference in the pictures for lengthy, but it’s about a centimeter long and maybe half that, wide.
How you want your letter signed: Buggy, in ChattaBoogie
Pleasing Fungus Beetle
Dear Buggy,
This appears to be a Pleasing Fungus Beetle, and we suspect it accidentally entered your suitcase. It is harmless and will not infest your home, nor will it damage your house or its furnishings. You do not need to throw your luggage away.
Thank you! Y’all do great work!! Thanks for setting my mind at ease. Happy Holidays!
Buggy in ChattaBoogie
Subject: Bugs on fungus on maple tree
Geographic location of the bug: Southern Indiana
Date: 09/20/2017
Time: 01:01 PM EDT
I believe these to be some sort of blister beetles. All I have been able to find are blister beetles with 3+ colored bands. I have never seen them before, but cannot find information about them being in our area. Your help is appreciated.
How you want your letter signed: Thanks! Sasha
Pleasing Fungus Beetle
Dear Sasha,
This is a Pleasing Fungus Beetle in the genus Megalodacne. Based on the BugGuide information that “Note also different form of scutellar macula, and pronotal sides near hind angles (slightly concave in heros / straight to slightly convex in fasciata)” we are leaning toward this being Megalodacne fasciata.
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